Opinion / Columnist
90 minutes with Mnangagwa - An Open Letter to the Ppesident
02 Oct 2026 at 05:51hrs |
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Dear Mr. President,
Allow me to thank you for taking time off your busy schedule on that beautiful Monday evening to watch our beloved Warriors take on the Democratic Republic of Congo live at the giant National Sports Stadium, not on television.
I trust you drew a few lessons from the first whistle to the last.
Watching the game on my mobile phone, one thing stood out for me: the referee kept checking his watch. The first half has to be 45 minutes, plus a few minutes of injury time. He did this in close consultation with the fourth official. Timekeeping, in football as in politics, is everything.
By half-time, the DRC was leading 2-0. Yet the referee could not end the match there. The rules are clear — a football match is played for 90 minutes.
We went into the second half still trailing. The referee continued to keep time until Marshal Munetsi pulled one back for us. A consolation goal, but still the clock had not struck 90.
We eventually lost the match — within the stipulated time. And despite the disappointment of thousands of Zimbabweans in the stadium, the referee did not bend the rules to suit our emotions. He was not intimidated by the crowd. He did not add extra time to give the Warriors a chance to equalise or win.
When the 90 minutes were up, he blew the final whistle. The game ended.
That is how rules are meant to work.
Mr. President, a nation cannot keep changing or extending its rules simply to accommodate the interests of one individual. It does not work that way.
Ninety minutes of normal play must never be stretched into an extra half just because we did not like the result.
A constitutional term is a constitutional term. It means what it says.
You have repeatedly reminded us, Mr. President, that you are a constitutionalist. You have said that even if you are persuaded to stay beyond your two terms, you will not bow to such calls.
The time has come to live by those words.
The match you watched on Monday should teach us all a valuable lesson. We lost to the DRC after 90 minutes, and the referee ended the game. No extension. No negotiation.
Your two terms are up, Mr. President. Allow the country to start afresh.
Yours faithfully,
A Concerned Citizen
Leonard Koni
Allow me to thank you for taking time off your busy schedule on that beautiful Monday evening to watch our beloved Warriors take on the Democratic Republic of Congo live at the giant National Sports Stadium, not on television.
I trust you drew a few lessons from the first whistle to the last.
Watching the game on my mobile phone, one thing stood out for me: the referee kept checking his watch. The first half has to be 45 minutes, plus a few minutes of injury time. He did this in close consultation with the fourth official. Timekeeping, in football as in politics, is everything.
By half-time, the DRC was leading 2-0. Yet the referee could not end the match there. The rules are clear — a football match is played for 90 minutes.
We went into the second half still trailing. The referee continued to keep time until Marshal Munetsi pulled one back for us. A consolation goal, but still the clock had not struck 90.
We eventually lost the match — within the stipulated time. And despite the disappointment of thousands of Zimbabweans in the stadium, the referee did not bend the rules to suit our emotions. He was not intimidated by the crowd. He did not add extra time to give the Warriors a chance to equalise or win.
When the 90 minutes were up, he blew the final whistle. The game ended.
That is how rules are meant to work.
Mr. President, a nation cannot keep changing or extending its rules simply to accommodate the interests of one individual. It does not work that way.
Ninety minutes of normal play must never be stretched into an extra half just because we did not like the result.
A constitutional term is a constitutional term. It means what it says.
You have repeatedly reminded us, Mr. President, that you are a constitutionalist. You have said that even if you are persuaded to stay beyond your two terms, you will not bow to such calls.
The time has come to live by those words.
The match you watched on Monday should teach us all a valuable lesson. We lost to the DRC after 90 minutes, and the referee ended the game. No extension. No negotiation.
Your two terms are up, Mr. President. Allow the country to start afresh.
Yours faithfully,
A Concerned Citizen
Leonard Koni
Source - Leonard Koni
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